Human Rights Watch

Burma: Military Massacres Dozens In Rohingya Village

Witnesses said that Burmese soldiers had beaten, sexually assaulted, stabbed, and shot villagers who had gathered for safety in a residential compound.

Human Rights Watch
By Human Rights Watch
Alishaan, a Rohingya Muslim man, walks towards a hospital carrying his sick mother Aishya Khatoon at Taiy Khali refugee camp, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. More than 400,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25. (AP/Dar Yasin)

The Burmese military summarily executed several dozen Rohingya Muslims in Maung Nu village in Burma’s Rakhine State on August 27, 2017, Human Rights Watch said today. Witnesses said that Burmese soldiers had beaten, sexually assaulted, stabbed, and shot villagers who had gathered for safety in a residential compound, two days after Rohingya

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HRW: Myanmar Atrocities Against Rohingya Has Hallmarks Of ‘Ethnic Cleansing’

“Lawful operations against armed groups do not involve burning the local population out of their homes.”

Human Rights Watch
By Human Rights Watch
Smoke rises from a burned house in Gawdu Zara village, northern Rakhine state, Myanmar, Sept. 7, 2017. Journalists saw new fires burning Thursday in the Myanmar village that was abandoned by the Rohingya, who fled attacks from Myanmar's armed forces after brutal attacks which included burning villages and slaughtering fleeing civilians. (AP Photo)

Ethnic Rohingya Muslims fleeing Burmese security forces in Burma’s Rakhine State have described killings, shelling, and arson in their villages that have all the hallmarks of a campaign of “ethnic cleansing,” Human Rights Watch said today. Burmese army, police, and ethnic Rakhine armed groups have carried out operations against predominantly

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Journalists, Writers In Turkey Face Terrorism, Separatism Charges

“Under its state of emergency, Turkey has once again become the world leader in jailing journalists and prosecuting them on terrorism charges.”

Human Rights Watch
By Human Rights Watch
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, centre, Republican People's Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, second left, National Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli, left and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim look on at the start of their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, July 25, 2016.

Istanbul (REPORT) – The prosecution of writers and journalists charged with terrorism and separatism for their association with a newspaper raises serious concerns for freedom of expression in Turkey, Human Rights Watch said today. The first trial hearing begins on December 29, 2016, for four defendants detained since August and five others who are

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Human Rights Watch: Nigerian Officials Raping Women, Girls Displaced By Boko Haram

“It is bad enough that these women and girls are not getting much-needed support for the horrific trauma they suffered at the hands of Boko Haram,” said Mausi Segun, senior Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch. “It is disgraceful and outrageous that people who should protect these women and girls are attacking and abusing them.”

Human Rights Watch
By Human Rights Watch
In this photo taken with an iPad on Friday, Jan. 31, 2014, women and children who survived attacks by Boko haram sits outside a compound at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, in Wada Chakawa, Yola, Nigeria.. (AP Photo/ Ibrahim Abdulaziz)

ABUJA – Government officials and other authorities in Nigeria have raped and sexually exploited women and girls displaced by the conflict with Boko Haram. The government is not doing enough to protect displaced women and girls and ensure that they have access to basic rights and services or to sanction the abusers, who include camp leaders,

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Report: Every 25 Seconds Someone Funneled Into Criminal Justice System For Personal Drug Use

While more people are arrested for simple drug possession in the US than for any other crime, mainstream discussions of criminal justice reform rarely question whether drug use should be criminalized at all.

Human Rights Watch
By Human Rights Watch
A Washington police officer inspects various items of hemp during a hemp protest, Monday, June 11, 2012, in Washington.

The massive enforcement of laws criminalizing personal drug use and possession in the United States causes devastating harm, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a joint report released today. Enforcement ruins individual and family lives, discriminates against people of color, and undermines public health. The

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Court Weighs US Border Patrol Agent Killing Of Mexican Child

A US Border Patrol shot a teenager approximately 10 times in the back killing him. The teen was standing near the border fence in Nogales, Mexico, and the Agent shot from the US side of the border.

Human Rights Watch
By Human Rights Watch
A family unit and unaccompanied minors encountered by Border Patrol Agents and Texas Game Wardens, wait as paper work is filled out. Wednesday, April 8, 2015.

San Francisco, California – A United States Border Patrol Agent who shot an unarmed Mexican child in the back across the border should not escape justice if the shooting was unlawful, Human Rights Watch said in a friend-of-the-court brief. In the brief, filed in a federal appeals court on Friday, Human Rights Watch says international standards

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Reflecting Global Trend, Indonesia’s Sunni Majority Persecutes Minority Sect

“Indonesian officials should be at the forefront of defending rights protected under the constitution and international law, not issuing unlawful prohibitions that undermine them.”

Human Rights Watch
By Human Rights Watch
A police officer inspects the damage at the house of a member of Ahmadiyah sect after it was attacked by a Sunni mob in Pandeglang, Banten province, Indonesia, Monday, Feb. 7, 2011. The machete-wielding mob on Sunday attacked the home of the minority sect leader in central Indonesia, killing three and wounding six others, police and witnesses said. (AP Photo)

New York – Local Indonesian authorities have banned the activities of the Ahmadiyah religious community in the town of Subang in West Java province, Human Rights Watch said today. The Indonesian government should urgently intervene to stop the harassment and intimidation of the minority group. On January 29, 2016, Subang district officials and

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